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This Day In Market History: Eurozone Unemployment Hits 12%

Each day, Benzinga takes a look back at a notable market-related moment that occurred on this date.

What Happened?

On this day five years ago, unemployment in the eurozone hit a record high of 12 percent.

Where The Market Was

The Dow finished the day at 14,662.01. The S&P 500 finished at 1,570.25. Today, the Dow is trading at 24,035.40 and the S&P 500 is trading at 2,640.87.

What Else Was Going On In The World?

In 2013, Edward Snowden leaked information about the National Security Agency’s PRISM program, which had illegally collected thousands of personal emails of U.S. citizens. A cybersecurity breach at Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) exposed the financial data of 40 million customers. The average price of a new house in the U.S. was $289,500 and a gallon of gas cost $3.80.

Europe’s Job Market Problem

In April 2013, ongoing economic crises in Greece and Spain pushed EU unemployment to new all-time highs above 12 percent. In February 2013, the unemployment rate in Greece reached a staggering 26.4 percent, while Spain’s unemployment was a nearly identical 26.3 percent.

The European woes came in stark contrast to the employment situation in the U.S., which reported just 7.7 percent unemployment at the time. The U.S. unemployment rate was at its lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis, and the U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs in February 2013.

The sluggish European economy hit younger workers particularly hard. The unemployment rate for Europeans under age 25 was 23.9 percent at the time.

Today, the European unemployment rate remains well above the U.S., but it has significantly improved since 2013, recently falling below 9 percent.